Boots to shut Batley branch and move Dewsbury opticians temporarily

Boots is closing its store in Batley next month and will temporarily move its opticians in Dewsbury to Birstall.

The company said the failure to secure an NHS pharmacy contract for the store in Commercial Street, Batley, had contributed to its decision.

Services at the Foundry Street branch in Dewsbury will be transferred to Birstall retail park this Saturday while the company completes building maintenance work

Boots could not confirm how the long the work would take but said it was not planning to close that branch.

A spokeswoman said: “At Boots UK, we continually review our store locations to make sure they are where our customers need us most.

“We are passionate about providing pharmacy services in the local communities that we serve, and as we have unfortunately been unable to secure a suitable NHS pharmacy contract in our store on Commercial Street, Batley, we have taken the decision not to renew the lease.

“The store will close in May 2015, and we are actively talking to all of our customers individually to highlight our local stores in Birstall Retail Park and Dewsbury where they are able to access Boots pharmacy services and their favourite Boots products.”